The secret Irish Catholic beer summit

5/9/13 11:08 AM EDT

While President Obma was courting Republican senators last month, his chief of staff Denis McDonough was secretly courting House Budget chief Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) at a Belgian restaurant on K Street, Time's Michael Scherer reports:

“He’s a Minnesota Irish Catholic guy, and I’m a Wisconsin Irish Catholic guy,” Ryan told me, after the conversation. “It quickly dawned on me that we can work together.”

“It was the first time I have had a candid conversation or a substantial conversation with a member of the Obama administration since they came into power,” Ryan added.

The discussion, over beer, included talk about spending levels and paths to reaching a deal, but was not intended as a negotiating session. Rather it was part of a large scale outreach effort by the White House, coordinated by McDonough to increase communication between the White House and Congress, and between Democrats and Republicans.